:: One-Sided Obsession ::
Shan Hanyu
We are in the discussion room in the library, and she is reading a book. It is titled Revenge of the Fox. I don't know if there is any connection between this and me, because she doesn't seem interested to communicate other than to work on the project.
It involves a simple task where we have to obtain collection data from a group of individuals through various surveys, then compiles the statistics for our analysis. At the end of the deadline, we have to submit our findings to the professor along with a study to back up our findings. For our writeup, we have student access to the journals and archives in the university, both available physically and online.
The journals we need cannot be found online, so she is compelled to go with me to the library. I feel excited to be working together with her, but she shuns me like a disease, acting as cold as she can ever be. Heads turn as I follow her into the library. She doesn't allow me to walk side by side with her.
She is dressed in a tight black dress, somewhat familiar in my mind, but I can't remember. With an enchanting smile, she strides confidently in front of me, fascinating those around us. She seems to have that effect on everyone. I may have some female attention from time to time, but it's nothing compared to what the prom queen does to men and women alike. The men crash into the bookshelves as their eyes never leave her direction, scattering the contents in a huge mess. It is chaos whenever Lu Shengyi smiles and meets anyone with her gaze.
While she has that unexplainable effect, to me, I just feel her smiles are very familiar, and I know it is deja-vu. I have seen her somewhere, and no matter how hard or how frequent I rack my brains, something is hindering me from remembering.
She glares at me when I temporarily halt the discussion to ask her if she knows me.
"No, I do not know you, weirdo." She shifts the topic back to the discussion and talks about customers' buying tendencies, then goes on about the forces of demand and supply. She is very brilliant and her photographic memory is amazing. Despite how she has been having her nose stuck in that Revenge book for a bit during lessons, she appears to have committed to memory what Professor Wang has said during our lectures. She can recite each word without a mistake. Worth commending!
"..And that's it for today." She tells me in a very authoritative tone. I nod, close the lid of my laptop and pack it into my backpack. I feel reluctant to leave her side, but she doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with me other than the project. I tell her that I will send her the link through DropBox once I get back to the dormitory.
As she normally does, she gets into her chauffeured car and leaves. I am left confused by her abruptness and her different attitude towards me, although I can see that she is very warm and friendly towards our classmates and her best friend. Why am I singled out by her? Is there something she dislikes about me?
Her best friend Xiaoxian is sitting alone at the basketball court watching a match between the freshmen, so I find it a chance to approach her. In contrast to her friend, Xiaoxian does not mind my presence I find her easily excited. The girl has her hair unfashionably pulled back in braids and is wearing an oversized sweater. A large pair of framed spectacles that is too big for her small face sits on her nose.
"Hello. Are you Xiaoxian?" I ask her politely.
She gives me an inviting smile. "Yes. You are Shengyi's partner for Professor Wang's class, Shan Hanyu, as I recall?"
"Absolutely." I make myself comfortable. The girl reminds me of my nerdy self back home, and I can relate to her. It can take time to settle in when you're perceived to be 'unusual' by a group of people. Thankfully, my mother and some self-improvement classes have sorted this out for me.
I think of a topic to get closer to her, but she surprises me with her inquisitive nature. She is so different from Lu Shengyi. Lu Shengyi does not engage in the unnecessary talk, and she prefers quietness. This girl is rather daft and does not appear very smart, unlike her best friend. On the other hand, she would prove a useful ally since she is so close to Shengyi. I should be able to use her without her suspecting otherwise.
"I hear that you are from Acacia University. How different is university life there?"
I scratch myself on the head. "Uh… It's more of a boy-dominated campus." Honestly, I don't know how to answer her. Universities are all the same to me. It's just who is present there that makes a change. Lu Shengyi never existed in my heart until I came to Nexonia.
She looks lost for a topic. I instead quickly ask her what she thinks of basketball, and she tells me she likes it. I ponder if Lu Shengyi likes it, but it is not a nice way to ask her friend about it. So I think of a way to get closer to her slowly through Xiaoxian.
"I am new here. I know there's a cinema, but I've not been there. I know there's a movie about football coming up soon, so do you want to...uh, catch a movie?"
All of a sudden, I feel so thick-skinned to have asked her out for a movie without considering her feelings. I am just using her for the sake of my ultimate goal.
"Is this a date?" she asks me shyly. The girl has not seemed to have ever dated before. Is it even possible that she thinks that I like her already?
"Uh, you can consider it a friendly date. I don't know anyone yet, and you are the first."
"What about Shengyi?" she asks.
"I don't think she likes me at all. She has been giving me the cold shoulder."
She looks at me sympathetically, and all of a sudden, a gust of wind blows her hair around her face messily. I move a strand of hair from her face, and she smiles innocently.
"Er, thank you."
"Xiaoxian, can I get your number?" I request her, invoking the most charming smile I can muster.
She accepts my notebook bashfully and scrawls her number on it, without asking further.
"Xiaoxian, it's very nice to get to know you." I want to leave, but she still stares towards me and makes me feel bad. So, I stay and continue watching the match with her. As we watch the match, people from the other rows start leaving. They push past us in a flurry, and one boy accidentally bumps past Xiaoxian, unintentionally thrusting her towards me. I support her as she lands against my chest, and help her up.
She is blushing, but I don't feel a thing for her. But I have to play the game as convincingly as possible, so I indulge her and pretend to look concerned as I search her face for any scratches or mild injuries.
After the match concludes, I offer to walk her back to the female dormitory. Men are forbidden from entering the female hostels, so the most I can send her is to the gate outside. However, she can still peek at me from a distance once she goes up to her floor, so I let her. She seems a very gullible soul and I am thankful that she trusts me so easily compared to her bestie.
The same night, I call her.
We talk for a good one hour over the phone. Good thing I have the 'tips to pursue a girl' handbook open before me as I speak to her, so I don't run out of topics as I carry out my plan.
After that, I browse the cinema website and make a booking for the movie I mentioned. It will be no more than a movie date, I tell myself. I just have to make it count by preparing gifts to make her think I am thoughtful, including a bouquet. I don't have much, but I can afford to get some out of my scholarship allowance. From what my mother said, girls adore flowers and chocolates.
Maybe the time will come when one day, I have to tell her that I like Shengyi and not her. And I hope then, she will understand. But before that, I need her to execute my plans to sweep Shengyi off her feet and make her fall in love with me slowly. She is the type that a man could die for, and I cannot stop thinking about her.